The Hiring Process

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When a company is hiring, they need to ensure that they hire the right employees. There are several different steps involved in the hiring process. This lesson explains these steps that include application forms, testing, interviewing, reference checks and health exams.

What is the Hiring Process?

In this lesson, we will explore the recruiting process used by human resource managers to review applications, test and interview candidates, perform reference checks and request health checks.

The hiring process is the process of reviewing applications, selecting the right candidates to interview, testing candidates, choosing between candidates to make the hiring decision and performing various pre-employment tests and checks.

During the hiring process, a human resources manager will use the following steps to determine the best possible fit for the job:

Review job applications

Test candidates

Interview selected candidates

Choose candidates based on pre-determined selection criteria

Perform background and reference checks

Send selected candidates for a health check

The Hiring Process in Action

Bark’s Dog Bone Company needed to hire another baker. Mr. Pugsley, human resource manager, received over 200 applications. He knew he had to use a process to select the best possible candidate. But what should he do next?

The first step Mr. Pugsley will take is to review the applications. Application reviewmeans reading each application that is received to determine whether the candidate possesses the skills, education, experience or other qualifications needed for the job. Pugsley will then separate those candidates into who will be interviewed and who will be retained on file for a period of time.

Testing candidates will be the next step and generally involves testing candidates for job skills or knowledge to determine whether the candidate is qualified for the position. Tests might include personality tests, skills tests and physical tests. Mr. Pugsley chose several candidates and sent them all for testing. Once he receives the results of the testing, he will narrow down the selection to fewer candidates.

Interviews are scheduled next. An interview is a meeting between the job seeker and the employer to evaluate whether the candidate has the right qualifications for the job. Although testing provided Mr. Pugsley with a good idea of whether the candidates would be right for the job, the face-to-face interview will tell him more about the candidate, like personal hygiene, timeliness and manners. Once the interviews have been completed, candidates will be selected on the basis of the results of the testing and the interview. This step will narrow the pool of candidates down even more. A set of pre-determined criteria is developed and may include skills, knowledge, experience and education.

Choosing a candidate is done by comparing the candidate’s qualifications to a pre-determined list of qualifications or criteria necessary to perform the job. Sometimes the candidate selection is done by one person. Sometimes a committee peruses the applications and interview notes and makes the decision. Mr. Pugsley will carefully review his interview notes and test results for all of the candidates and make the final decision.

Once the right candidate is chosen, background checks and reference checks are necessary. Performing background checks generally involves checking a candidate’s credit score, criminal record, education record and military record. These checks are done to verify that what a candidate states on his application is actually true and can be verified. If a candidate does not provide truthful information or lies about any of the information he includes in his application, it is generally grounds to rescind the job offer.

Reference checks generally involve contacting references, who are usually professional acquaintances that the candidate worked for in the past. Some common reference check questions are length of employment, salary, work ethic and reason for separation.